The challenge:
Scope Communications has been the proud PR partner of New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty for more than 10 years. Part of our brief is to tell exceptional stories through quality media outlets,helping to raise the profile of the brand and build trust and authority in a highly competitive real estate market.
The approach:
We utilise media relations and media releases to tell the NZSIR story and achieve third-party endorsement via Earned media. This involves strategic thinking and media connections at a brand level, as well as understanding the ‘story’ for significant property listings. Here are some stand-out examples:
The Ark, Christchurch
Media loves news that is quirky and different, so when we found out about The Ark listed for sale in Christchurch in February 2025, we knew this would have significant appeal. As the only arkin the world available on the housing market, we anticipated a flood of media interest and decided to share the story via a media release to NZ and Australian journalists.
One media release resulted in eight media mentions in some of the biggest mainstream media outlets across Australasia, including: Coverage in News.com.au, Herald Sun (AU), realestate.com.au, 1News, a live cross on Breakfast, Stuff, Otago Daily Times and the New Zealand Herald. Our media monitoring software estimates a total potential cumulative reach of 884,929 and an advertising space rate (ASR) of $435,415.
Client feedback:
“Thanks Scope and everyone for your attention to this. We appreciate the coverage immensely. It’s been great seeing it pop up on various media platforms! Together we might manage to unearth the next Noah which would be fantastic.” – Kathryn Cross, New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty
Jacks Point Lodge, Queenstown
Our brief for this exceptional property listing was to appeal to potential property developers. We crafted a media release but also worked on specific media pitches to suit the desired media outlets. Our approach resulted in significant Earned media pick-up in 2023: This story received more than 16 media mentions from national and local outlets, with an ASR value equivalent to $40,000. It also led to a significant spike in NZSIR’s website traffic following the news stories.
Halfway Bay Station, Queenstown
The story of this stunning property, accessible only by air or boat, needed to be shared widely when it was listed in 2020. To manage media and the story, we prepared a media release and worked with the agent to curate additional angles. This approach led to several stories in major media outlets, including Bloomberg, NZ Herald, OneRoof, 1News, BusinessDesk, Newstalk ZB, Otago Daily Times, Lakes Weekly Bulletin – to name a few.
Pepin Island, Nelson
In 2018the NZSIR team in Nelson let us know that they were taking Pepin Islandto the market for the first time in26 years. Thissignificant listing required national and international interest from media and prospective buyers, alike. Working closely with the Nelson agents, we determined the strongest angle for the media release and distributed it widely. The results: The Pepin Island release received excellent media coverage, with stories shared by NZ Herald, Stuff, RNZ, 1News – to name a few – with an advertising space rate (ASR) of more than $78,741.
Are you looking for an effective way to share your story with marketing communications and media relations? Contact us today for a free, no-obligation chat.
